This a representation of how school has been this year. With everything moving online, it has been a big shift. I think it took quite a lot of getting used to, but I feel that I have gotten a lot better at managing my time this year. However, I do think that I am not absorbing information as well as I used to when I had in person class. As it seems that the working world is headed toward becoming more virtual, I can see the benefit in having this be my college experience. Learning how to manage myself completely and take accountability for my own learning has been a hefty task.
Artifact #2
Over winter break, I had the opportunity to attend the KPMG Winter Warm Up in Columbus, Ohio. This event was aimed towards accounting students that are planning on staying in Ohio offices after graduation. Before this event, I had been doubting my accounting major, so this event was of great importance for me to decide if I wanted to pursue accounting in the future. The event was very helpful for me because I was able to meet their staff members and learn more about the culture of the company. I felt like I could easily fit in with the staff at the office. They also allowed us to ask a panel of staff from each specialization of accounting in addition to doing a related activity for each specialization. I found this to be very helpful and I actually felt myself heavily gravitation towards tax, which I think I am going to pursue in the future. Overall, I am so glad that I was able to attend this event over break.
Year in Review
Freshman year:
- Joined Mount Leadership Society Scholars
- Joined the Leadership Training Committee in Mount
- Participated in Legacy Week on Team Abuse
- Became an Office Assistant in my residence hall
- Joined the Accounting Association
- Joined Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations
- Joined CHAARG (Changing Health, Attitudes + Actions to Recreate Girls)
- Was hired as a Resident Advisor for next fall
- Was offered and accepted an internship with Nationwide Insurance for the Summer of 2021
Over my first year at Ohio State, I have realized that I made a great choice in selecting where I go to college. I have loved all of the opportunity that I have had in regard to which student organizations I can join. I have also learned that I cannot spread myself too thin by being in too many of these organizations.
Coronavirus cut my freshman year short, but I am so grateful that this did not happen during my junior year as accounting students usually have a crucial internship that summer. I am also thankful that this did not happen last year as it would have been hard to have my senior year of high school cut short. As next fall approaches, I am eager because I will begin to take more business classes and begin my role as a Resident Advisor.
One transformational experience that has taken place during my freshman year is with CHAARG. I have not only come to love myself more but have found a great group of girls that I love. I’ve fallen in love with exercise and taking care of myself and I have a great group of girls to do it with! Along with this, I’ve realized that I take a lot of pride in my grades and think of it as part of my self-care to dedicate myself to the goal of a good GPA. I’m excited to continue my relationship with myself and the girls I’ve met through CHAARG!
G.O.A.L.S.
Global Awareness: One way that I have been learning about various cultures is through reading. I enjoy reading fictional books that give a realistic sense of what a time period was like or a culture is like. During quarantine, my mom and I started reading books from Reese Witherspoon’s book club, Hello Sunshine. I seem to always love the books she picks because they are so vivid. The first book my mom and I read is called The Henna Artist, which is a story of a woman in Nepal who is in an abusive relationship and escapes, eventually becoming one of India’s most famous Henna Artists. I learned a lot of about Indian culture from reading this book. I am currently reading The Giver of Stars, which is about a woman who leaves England to marry someone in rural Kentucky during the 1930’s. The culture in England and the U.S. is often compared throughout the book.
Original Inquiry: I am involved in a student organization called Students Consulting for Non-Profit Organizations through Fisher. In this club we are assigned a Columbus nonprofit that we will work with on a 10-week project cycle. Throughout this cycle with the client, I am on a team of students that has to come together and find solutions for our client’s needs. This involves creative thinking and looking at problems in a new way.
Academic Enrichment: This semester is my hardest academically so far. I am in the second Business Statistics, a 4000 level Economics, and the intro Honors Accounting class. I am also in two other classes. Learning to apply myself academically, especially with these hard classes and doing everything online, has been a challenge for me this semester.
Leadership Development: As a Resident Advisor, I have taken on a new leadership role in my community. Being the leader on my floor in my residence hall has taught me a lot of new skills, such as communication, programming, community development, human relations, and inclusion.
Service Engagement: As part of the Year of Service in Mount Leadership Society Scholars, I am volunteering at Broad Street Achievement Programs. Through this opportunity, I will be working with students of various ages in an after-school program. I am very excited for this opportunity!
Career
Here is my resume, including all of my professional experiences to date: Sydney Speer Resume
Artifact #1
Starting out my freshman year, I knew that I wanted to join an extracurricular that would help me develop my professional skills and give me insight into possible career options. I found the perfect organization for me when I was accepted into Students Consulting for Non Profit Organizations. For this project cycle, I have been given the opportunity to work with She Has A Name (SHAN), a Columbus non profit that helps aid the abolitionist mission. I have been focusing on helping SHAN launch an incubator program in which they will help other nonprofits in the Columbus area. My first task for this deliverable was to make a timeline outlining the steps SHAN needs to take to launch this program. I did this by creating a project management calendar on Google Sheets, which I have attached. It was great to take what I am learning in Computer Science & Engineering and apply it to a real world situation. Incubator Timeline – Project Timeline
About Me
Sydney is a first year undergraduate student in the Fisher College of Business. She is also a part of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars program. Over the past summer, Sydney worked 55 hours in an environment that fostered her leadership qualities and pushed her beyond her comfort zone. In high school, Sydney participated in many leadership and volunteer extracurriculars. She was president of the Environmental club at her high school, showcasing her creative abilities in organizing events. As president, she organized various events throughout the year, with her favorite being “Earth Week” including various themes for each day like “Carpool Karaoke Day” and “Care for Our Common Home Day,” which brought a keynote speaker to campus. She was also a Kairos retreat leader in which she learned a great deal about leading others. Another one of Sydney’s passions is volunteering. Her favorite volunteer activity in high school was Labre, a program that fosters friendships with the marginalized in downtown Akron. Her favorite quote from this program is that the homeless are “poor in the eyes of men and women, but rich in the eyes of God.” Other than volunteering and activism, Sydney spent most of her free time in a nationally ranked show choir. Although Sydney was very involved in high school, her academics take top priority, granting her an unweighted cumulative GPA of 3.97 in high school. Outside of school, Sydney enjoys yoga, reading, and music.